The present disclosure relates generally to data storage systems and, in particular, to methods, systems, and computer program products for providing a policy-based information storage management system in a medical-related environment.
Digital record keeping processes, for example, those servicing the medical field are driven by digital imaging technology, which has recently seen a tremendous growth. For example, in the field of medicine, as new imaging technologies emerge, the amount of digitized data for a given patient gets bigger and bigger. For example, there now exists a 256-slice CT scanner that produces high-resolution, three-dimensional images of a human body in under a minute. The amount of data collected in a single scan is huge and provides vital information for a treating clinician. Digital imaging has become a critical element in the diagnosis and treatments of patients.
The storage requirements for such data can increase exponentially with these advancements in scanner and digital data collection technology. As the volume of data increases, so do the storage requirements for housing this data. Since immediate access to the data is critical to patient care, many facilities find that keeping these large data sets instantly available to a treating clinician becomes more difficult, as their information technology (IT) storage systems reach capacity. This can lead to operational problems and system failures, or worse, compromise patient care.
Traditional computer environments seek to partition this data, such that selected data sets are stored in fast access memory and others are relegated to slower, long-term memory (e.g., magnetic tape). However, determining which data sets to store in each of the storage systems is not always easily ascertained.
What is needed, therefore, is a policy-driven information storage management system and process that determines which data sets are stored in rapidly accessible storage subsystems and which data sets are stored in slower storage subsystems.